Getting used to tarps

Well, I'll put them on my shopping list for when I'm ready to buy them. Then I'll start looking in earnest, here and elsewhere on the 'net.

Thanks!

there are ideas that get in your head about creepy crawlies. the best way to take care of those are to pitch a tarp on a mountain campsite with a good view over a valley to the east. go to sleep, and then let the sun wake you up as it comes over that valley in the morning. the creepy crawlies won't be so bad anymore. :)

I've never used a tarp, so no direct comparison, but I think you'll like the hexamid. I do, but my desire to go actual tarp camping was never really that high. The weight/bulk savings of the hexamid/tarps is pretty addictive though.

Although, I admit it would be pretty cool to sleep under the stars in a nettent, the cuben Joe uses is pretty see through. You can see the trees blowing in the wind. The mesh door is huge and when lying down (especially on a >1-1.5" mat) you can see out all around you. In certain light conditions (obviously at night) I forget the mesh is there.

If you're using the tyvek groundsheet, bring some duct tape with you and make a bathtub floor as suggested, it works well.

Did you get the solo or duo?

I think you did good with the hexamid. Very airy (like I'm "communing" with nature) But as I said my experience is pretty limited. The netting as a floor is also surprisingly sturdy and I don't worry when I throw it on the ground. Joe's got it right when he mentions on his website that pine needles etc just poke right through the mesh, instead of puncturing fabric, and dirt doesn't stick to it. I worry more about my tent with the silnylon floor.

If you're asking me, I got the solo.

I agree with you about the mesh, although it makes little difference thanks to being nearsighted. The big mesh door is nice. I'm spoiled now and really dislike it when I install the optional cuben door.

I'm a little nearsighted too, maybe that's why the mesh disappears. Helps being a sidesleeper too.

I"m wondering about the Cuben door as well. Joe says you really don't need it, and I"ve been in a pretty heavy all night rain (on a very hard packed surface–had to tie most lines to logs–with rain splatter galore) and stayed dry without a door, but no blowing rain.

.75 oz security blanket I suppose.

Sorry to hijack the thread…

The door was mostly used to minimize drafts and increase warmth so that I'd be more comfortable on those nights when I wanted to spend more time massaging my feet or calves. I guess you can say it made it more like a real tent, although bigger flat tarps can be pitched to provide a lot of isolation from the elements too.

I don't know if it helps with the original subject, but if I went with a traditional tarp, I'd go with a bigger tarp that had Lineloc 3 tensioners. This big size would allow more kinds of pitches, while the tensioners would minimize setup time. I would also prefer to stick with cuben fiber to minimize weight and bulk.

Jeffrey, I just read all these excellent replies to your question about mozzies and miceys and tarps and tents.
I have just one thing to add which appears to not have been said:

If your strategy for dealing with mosquitos is to bring a tent, what do you do during the evening while cooking dinner (mosquitos' favorite time)? Or breakfast? Or when you stop to rest at the edge of a lake during your hike… are you going to pitch your tent and stay inside it?

No, you need a solution to the mosquito problem that does not involve being in your tent all the time.
For me, that solution has evolved into a mosquito-proof clothing system:

1. hat + mosquito net that seals around the neck, with my collar tucked up inside the net (interlocked).
2. long-sleeve windshirt that the bugs can't bite through
3. long pants tucked into my socks
4. lightweight bug-proof gloves tucked under the cuffs of my windshirt

This clothing system allows me to sit around in buggy locations without getting eaten.
And once I solved this problem, it allowed me to sleep in the open without a tent. I wear the hat and mozzie net when I go to bed if the bugs are out. Remove it when the bugs die down. Put it on again at dawn if the bugs wake up.

Works great. And keeps off flies in the middle of the day as well. Which allows me to take little micro-naps anywhere, such as right after eating lunch, without being disturbed by bees / flies/ mosquitos / ants.

Works great, less filling.

Cheers!

..David

I too am thinking of the switch to tarp. I now have a TT double Rainbow and a SMD Lunar Solo. The things keeping me from switching are the weight of my gear vs. a tarp with a bivy or bug tent. The two are close for the same protection is it worth an oz. or two to switch. I love the fact that my gear is idiot proof for the most part. The only thing I can see as far as the tarp set up is the views, but at night whats to see. I do however like the idea of all the space of a tarp. I am however still afraid of the protection from the weather, Ticks and a snake cuddling up with me in my sleeping bag like the old westerns movies. Nothing against Tarps! My view!

"The only thing I can see as far as the tarp set up is the views, but at night whats to see."

Plenty of moon and star light to see in anything but the cloudiest night.

And at dusk and dawn.

That's a big reason I like to use tarps.

Well I did it! I'm going to give it another shot. I just ordered the MLD Trailstar from Ron, I'll see it in about 4-5 weeks hopefully sooner. I'll just use a Tyvek ground cloth no bug tents maybe a head net. Wish me luck!

Kurt, the Trailstar is a great shelter. You'll have fun with it!

>2. For bugs – Wear a head-net to bed and camp at a high elevation.

>Tent's are nice when there are a LOT of bugs (only a few weeks each summer)

Unfortunately there are many places in the country where this isn't all that true. The midwest is a perfect example of not being able to camp at any elevation, and bugs tend to last months, not weeks.

During the summer, I wake up with bugs in the peak of my tarp or rainfly almost EVERY morning. Sometimes they're big bugs that I don't want on me. It's not the hundreds of flies or mosquitoes so much (though, those are maddening), its the large spiders and wasps that I don't particularly like.

During a few weeks of summer there is a large moth hatching. Once there were so many moths in the peak of my tarptent that you could literally measure with a ruler the dust they left from their wings. Gross. Harmful to me? Probably not. I just don't want them on me or in my sleeping bag.

Ticks are quite abundant here as well. In a 12 mile stretch through old logging roads, my fiancee and I picked off nearly a hundred of them. While sitting and eating dinner, they were literally falling on us from the trees. They'll find you sleeping, for sure.

My favorite was when a very large spider was in the process of eating a wasp on my bugnet.

Oh yea…..I've also woken up with a pile of seeds next to my head. Don't need mice in there either.

You can call me a sally if you want. I'll stick with my bugnet.

"The only thing I can see as far as the tarp set up is the views, but at night whats to see."

I was fortunate enough to backpack parts of the Teton Crest in Wyoming last year. Instead of using the group shelter, I decided to just throw my bivy down and sleep under the stars. An amazing sky every single night. I left wondering what took me so long to get out of the shelter and under the stars.

My problem is that I need a bug-free space not only for me but also for my 80-lb. dog. I've done a lot of research on numerous different tarp/bug net/ground sheet/bivy combinations big enough for the two of us. I have yet to find anything lighter than my 25-oz. Gossamer Gear/Tarptent Squall Classic. I could possibly save 2-3 ounces by going to a cuben fiber tarp, but my budget definitely won't stretch that far!

Hey Mary,

Re:
"I need a bug-free space not only for me but also for my 80-lb. dog"

Your example is the number one reason why I would use a tent with built in net.

But since I no longer have a dog, I prefer a tarp, with Meteor bivy in most cases.
I do use a tent when I backpack with my wife. Thta is what she likes and she is the boss..

Growing up, I almost always cowboy camped with an occasional painters/construction tarp.
I just accepted the bugs and didn't let em bother me, until a friend was bit by a black widow. And now with my worries of West Nile, Lyme and all the other possibilities, I hike with a head net and sleep in the Meteor when bugs are an issue.

The Meteor bivy is far more comfortable than a full coverage bivy, so if you don't like bivys, you may like the Meteor or something similar.

In most cases you don't even have to setup the tarp. The Meteor will even shed most of a light evening rain and dew. If you should have to pitch the tarp, you have lots of options depending on if you want breeze and views or not.

How many times have you not been able to pitch your tent because there just isn't enough space?
With the Meteor and tarp you can pitch in a space the size of your sleeping pad. Like between rocks or vegetation.

What if you are on one of those trails where you occasionally sleep in a lean-to, shelter, cave, etc… The Meteor allows for protection from the occasional spray blowing in and keeps the bugs critters off.
And we all know about the mice in some areas. The AT and some desert camps come to mind.